I find references to a technique called 'healthy saute'. This purports to be a healthier equivalent to the regular saute, without using heated oils. As far as I understand, the idea is to use 1 or 2 tablespoons of broth, heat in a skillet until it starts to bubble, then add chopped onions, stirring for 5 minutes. The point of this is to get the onions to release their own oils, which can then be used to saute other stuff.

Advantages of this method would be:
- less unhealthy fat
- no heated oils, as "research shows that exposing oils to high heat results in the production of oxidized compounds and free radicals"
(Healthy Sauté Cooking Method)

So I'm wondering: if heating, say, olive oil resulted in the production of these compounds, then why would heating the natural oils present in the onions not result in exactly the same thing?

i'm sorry for not answering your actual question, but please don't saute with olive oil that's a waste of money. Use vegetable oil or clarified butter. These have much higher smoke points. And oils are not fats, and not unhealthy.

i'm sorry for not answering your actual question, but please don't saute with olive oil that's a waste of money. Use vegetable oil or clarified butter. These have much higher smoke points. And oils are not fats, and not unhealthy.

Olive oil has a great flavor that other fats cannot mimic. As long as you keep below the smoke point (which is quite high when buying a quality extra virgin olive oil like Colavita or Filippo Berio or Bertolli). And oils are fats - by definition. A fat which is liquid at room temperature is called an oil.

MANY sautes are cooked far beyond the smoking point of olive oil for best quality, and again, it is a waste of money, high quality olive oils are best used in a vinaigrette or mayonnaise where the flavor is really tasted. And you're right oils are technically fats, but in the industry we generally refer to the solids as fats and liquids as oils.